Chapter 9: Crushed Underfoot
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
This shot destroyed the joint on Lin Yun's mecha's left shoulder. When the left arm of Lin Yun's mecha fell off, the power of the laser sword in the one remaining hand weakened. Although he had forced Li Tian to the ground by this time, the laser sword was unable to get closer, having been blocked by Li Tian.
Realizing that there was an avenue for an attack, Li Tian quickly moved the mecha's legs and kicked Lin Yun's mecha in the chest.
"Bam!"
Lin Yun was flung back by Li Tian's kick. Because he dropped an arm, his balance was off in the air and he fell to the ground. The laser sword in the right hand dislodged and was flung away.
The battle situation between the two was instantly reversed!
"Warning, the propulsion system is damaged. Unable to fly."
Lin Yun heard the notification of the damaged propulsion system and looked at the red color of the visual interface on the left. He was about to win. Who had secretly attacked him?
"Multiplayer battle mode detected, change perspective?" a familiar electronic voice suddenly spoke.
This sudden electronic voice brought Lin Yun out of the pits of hell and up to heaven. He did not expect to be able to change perspective other than in a Skynet Star Qualification Assessment. He said quickly, "Change perspective."
Lin Yun's perspective quickly changed. He seemed to be in midair looking down on the ground. He saw his mecha lying on the ground, his right hand propping himself up in an attempt to stand up. Not far behind, Li Tian was moving his mecha and approaching him slowly. Li Tian's mecha slowly lifted the laser sword on his right arm up and prepared to slash downwards.
Without hesitation, Lin Yun manipulated the mecha's right arm and extended it towards the back. He aimed at Li Tian and fired the laser.
Li Tian thought that he was going to win and did not expect Lin Yun to make such a move. This shot hit Li Tian's mecha directly on the head.
"Boom!"
With a loud boom, Li Tian's mecha was blown apart as if it was a huge firecracker. Li Tian's body fell out of the mecha, his face filled with doubt and incomprehension. He could not understand how Li Yun seemed to have grown eyes on his back and could see what was happening behind him.
Lin Yun slowly made his mecha stand up and walked to Li Tian's front. Looking down at Li Tian, he felt his heart fill with malevolence. So, he lifted the right foot of his mecha, intending to step on Li Tian.
Li Tian gave a shout before turning and running. In Skynet, even if Lin Yun's mecha stepped on Li Tian, he would not really be harmed. The problem was, if he got stepped on by Lin Yun's mecha, his classmates would take him for a laughing stock.
As Lin Yun continued to attempt to step on Li Tian with his mecha, a look of horror appeared on Li Tian's face as he dodged.
"Hahahaha!"
The students were amused watching Lin Yun running after Li Tian like a cat chasing a mouse.
"Li Tian, why are you like a mouse getting chased by Lin Yun?"
"Li Tian, you can't win even with unfair help. You should change your name to Li Mouse instead."
…
Many students dissatisfied with Li Tian joined in to mock him.
Li Tian was embarrassed and flustered. Hearing the ridicule of his classmates, he got distracted, tripped, and fell onto the ground.
Lin Yun did not let him off. He stepped on Li Tian and grounded his foot into the ground like he was squashing an ant. When he lifted the mecha's right foot, Li Tian was already buried deep in the soil with limbs akimbo.
"Hahahaha!"
The students saw the pathetic Li Tian and burst out laughing again.
Lin Yun was also laughing. He felt relieved, and the malevolence in his heart let up quite a bit.
Suddenly, he noticed that Dongfang Ruoxue's right arm was raised and aimed at himself.
"So, it was Dongfang Ruoxue who fired at me." Lin Yun suddenly realized. However, in this perspective, how was it possible that he would let himself get hit?
"Boom!"
Just as Lin Yun was about to dodge, Dongfang Ruoxue's mech suddenly exploded. In the blaze, Dongfang Ruoxue fell pathetically from her mecha onto the ground, landing with a puff of dust.
Lin Yun saw Feng Ke's mecha behind Dongfang Ruoxue's. It was holding a laser sword in one hand and saluting with the other. He could not help but smile. Then, he moved his mecha around and raised his mecha's right hand in a return salute.
Dongfang Ruoxue jumped up and pointed at Feng Ke, shouting, "How dare you sneak attack me?"
In the mecha, Feng Ke looked down at Dongfang Ruoxue making a ruckus in front of her. Then, she said with a smile, "So what if I sneak attack you? I'm going to step on you as well!" She raised the mecha's right foot.
With a gasp, Dongfang Ruoxue turned pale with shock. Having just witnessed Li Tian's humiliation when he was crushed into the ground, she had no intention of risking having the same happen to her. Dongfang Ruoxue moved really quickly. In the blink of an eye, she ran to the bald teacher.
However, Feng Ke remained still and said with a smile, "I'm just teasing and you're already so scared. Coward!"
With a face flushed with rage, Dongfang Ruoxue suddenly shouted, "Lin Yun, Feng Ke, both of you just wait!"
For some reason, Lin Yun felt sweet when he heard Dongfang Ruoxue put himself together with Feng Ke. He video-chatted privately with Feng Ke. "Why didn't you come to school today?"
Feng Ke: "I'm not in Clearwater City now. I will only be able to take classes in Skynet for a while."
There was a sense of loss in Lin Yun's heart, but he smiled and said, "Oh, I wanted to invite you to the newly opened ice-cream shop."
"Ice-cream? Hahaha, do you want to treat me to ice-cream?" Feng Ke laughed suddenly, then she held back the laughter and said, "But I don't like ice-cream, treat me to hot-pot instead."
Lin Yun looked at Feng Ke's smile and his heart filled with joy. He quickly promised. "Okay, no problem. I'll treat you to hot-pot when you are free."
Feng Ke exposed her two little canine teeth and smiled. "I have something to do offline. I'll be waiting for you in Skynet at 7 PM tonight. There's something good to watch."
Saying that Feng Ke's avatar turned grey. She had exited Skynet.
On this day, Lin Yun hoped that the sky would get dark sooner. In the evening, he hurriedly finished his meal. Then, he ran to the room and entered Skynet before waiting patiently.
Although it was not 6 PM yet, Lin Yun had no intention of doing anything else. He hoped that Feng Ke would appear earlier and say to him with a smile, "You're here early."
Then, he would be able to reply, "Not early, I just got here."
Time passed, Lin Yun had been waiting for an hour. However, he did not feel impatient at all. Instead, he was filled with inexplicable joy because he knew that Feng Ke was about to appear.
Finally, Feng Ke's channel invitation came.
"You're online. Come to channel QZ8732, I'm waiting for you."
Lin Yun hurriedly accepted the invitation and entered the channel. Immediately, he saw a huge ring. On the ground of the ring, there was a realistic painting of a golden dragon. The golden dragon's eyes shone and its scales glittered. Its five claws were brilliantly depicted. Around the ring were empty auditoriums. Seated toward the front, Feng Ke waved at Lin Yun.
Lin Yun walked quickly to Feng Ke and sat down. He then looked around and asked curiously, "Where's the other audience?"
Feng Ke shrugged her shoulders and said, "There's no other audience, it's just the two of us."
Hearing that, Lin Yun felt a flash of happiness in his heart. He asked, "Where is this, and what's so interesting about it?"
Feng Ke smiled. She pointed at the ring with her small fair finger and said, "Someone will pass the Skynet Six-Star Qualification Assessment there in a while. Won't that be a good show?"
Skynet Six-Star Qualification Assessment! Lin Yun's heart skipped a beat. The Skynet Star Assessment was said to be the most difficult assessment known. It was evident from the difficulty of the One-Star Qualification Assessment that he had passed. Rumor had it that even a real mecha warrior might not necessarily be able to pass the Skynet Six-Star Qualification Assessment.
Was someone strong taking part in the Six-Star Qualification Assessment today? In that case, what did this warrior have to do with Feng Ke? In order to prevent exposing their abilities, the strong would generally not invite others to watch their assessment video.
Lin Yun wanted to continue asking questions, but Feng Ke put her index finger on her lips. "Shh—it's about to start."
With her words, the surrounding light instantly dimmed. Several spotlights suddenly appeared, illuminating the entire ring brightly. Then, a muscular young man appeared on the side of the ring. His figure was fit and his entire being seemed filled with infinite power. With black hair that fell to his shoulders and obsidian eyes which seemed to contain the endless starry sky, he exuded a strange charm.
Feng Ke pressed her lips together and snorted. "So pretentious."
Lin Yun chuckled. At the same time, he heard an electronic voice speak.
"Change the perspective?"
-- Gift
received